Book cut-off saw

ABSTRACT

A cut-off saw for cutting through the signatures of a book transversely to the plane of the signatures when the book is clamped firmly together. The cutting element of the saw is a thick rotatable disc having a number of blades mounted on the periphery thereof and extending outwardly therefrom in the plane of the disc. Each of the blades has a relief in its leading edge, a side rake extending toward its trailing edge, and a bevelled end portion extending radially inwardly toward its trailing edge. There is provided a slidably supported plate which can be positioned adjacent to the path of travel of the blades in order to serve as an anvil against which the blades can shear the paper.

United States Patent Hawkes et al.

BOOK CUT-OFF SAW Inventors: Thomas B. Hawkes; Richard B.

l-Iawkes, both of Easton, Pa.

U.S. Cl. ..83/470, 83/592, 83/675, 83/925 A, 90/34 143/133 R, 133 N, 133 P; 29/105; 90/34 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Goddard ......29/l05 Reaney ..29/l05 Weddell I ..29/l05 Bryant ..90/34 Bryant ..90/34 Int. Cl. ..B26d l/l4: Field of Search ..83/694, 470, 658, 663, 673, 83/625, 355, 472, 508, 592, 925 BT;

[ 1 Dec. 19, 1972 Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Attorney-Yount and Tarolli [57] ABSTRACT A cut-off saw for cutting through the signatures of a book transversely to the plane of the signatures when the book is clamped firmly'together. The cutting element of the saw is a thick rotatable disc having a number of blades mounted on the periphery thereof and extending outwardly therefrom in the plane of the disc. Each of the blades has a relief in its leading edge, a side rake extending toward its trailing edge, and a bevelled end portion extending radially inwardly toward its trailing edge. There is provided a slidably supported plate which can be positioned adjacent to the path of travel 'of the blades in order to serve as an anvil against which the blades can shear the paper.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED I97? 3, 706, 252

SHEET 1 0F 4 MUM PATENTED 3.706.252

sum 3 OF 4 Ti im Fianna-5f flea/K58 1604400 .5. Hawks-s nooK-cU'r-orr SAW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field Of The Invention This invention pertains to machines for sawing off portions of signatures comprising a book during a book binding operation. The invention is particularly related to a rotary saw for accomplishing this end.

2. Description Of The Prior Art In the manufacture of books, it is customary to place a gathered group of signatures needed to makeup a book into a clamp on a book binder machine. A necessary step in preparing the clamped groupof signatures for binding into a book is the cutting of the clamped group along the edge of the book which is to become thebinding edge. This is necessary for two reasons. First, if a perfect bound book is: to be made, it is necessary to cut away the folds of the clamped signatures to provide a binding edge. Secondly, while the binding edge must be generally flat, it should not be absolutely smooth, but should have a textured surface. The reason for this is that the textured surface enables glue to be worked into the binding edge of the book. v v

Equipment for cutting thebinding edge of a book on a binder machine includes various rotary saw blades. These saw blades for the most part are capable of producing a cut surface which possesses the rough texture necessary for the application of glue. Such saw blades are commonly in the form of a slotting saw or a milling cutter. This type of blade has two basic imperfections. First, prior art saw blades whirling at high velocity and cutting through tightly clamped signatures have a tendency to convert the paper being cut away into useless and burdensome paper dust. Thus it is preferable if the paper out from the book can be main tained in a dense integral chip of paper. Such material has a definite scrap value. Secondly, the fine bits of paper dust generated by the prior art rotary book saws tend to be suspended in the air and to accumulate on the various parts of machinery.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a book cut-off saw machine which is capable of cutting off segments of signatures in chip form and with the generation of a minimum amount of paper dust, while still retaining the advantages of the rotary saw by leaving the cut surface with a texture suitable to receive the application of glue.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cutter which is capable of cutting a very narrow kerf.

Another disadvantage of the prior art rotary saw machines is that the saw blades, as they are cutting, tend to deflect out of the cutting plane due to bending of the thin circular disc on which the teeth or blades are mounted. This deflection leads to uneven cuts which precludes the obtaining of flat surfaces at the binding edge. As a result the binding of the pages becomes more difficult.

It is another object of the invention to provide a book cut-off saw which, while having the advantages indicated above, is capable of producing a flat cut surface without undulations by providing the cutter element with extreme rigidity.

Another disadvantage of prior art book cutting saws is the difficulty of maintaining a fixed surface against which the cutter element can shear the clamped signatures. Therefore it is another object of the invention to provide an adjustably mounted surface with respect to which the cutter element operates.

BRIEF SUMMARY or= THE INVENTION The machine of this invention has a rotary saw blade cutting element. The group of signatures or book to be cut to size is placed in a movable clamp and then advanced into the rotary blade to achieve the cutting. The cutting element is made up of a thick disc which is bevelled at its outside diameter, thereby providing a thin rim upon which is mounted a large number of thin cutting blades. The thin blades enable the book to be cut through with a minimum generation of paper dust, even for very thin cuts, and to enable the segment of paper being cut off to remain in an integral chip form. Notwithstanding the thinness of the blades necessary to make the narrow cuts effectively, undue movements of the cutting blades from the cutting plane is prevented by securing them to a thick and consequently rigid disc.

This machine is also provided with a precisely-adjustable backup plate to hold theadvancing package of signatures firm against the forces generated by the moving blade in cutting and to provide a surface with respect to which the blades can provide a shearing function. The provision of a wheel which overlaps the cutter wheel enables the book to be supported adjacent the location of the cut, thereby preventing deflection of the book.

The actual cutting blades positioned around the periphery of the disc are designed with several features which enable a thin out to be made without excess generation of paper dust. Each blade is provided with side rake, i.e. the thickness of the trailing portions is less than that of the leading portions. This feature assures that the trailing portions of the blade do not mutilate the paper being cut, thus avoiding paper dust generation and destruction of the desirable chip. The trailing edge of the outer end of the blade is bevelled back in a radial inward direction for a similar reason, viz., that the trailing edge of the blade as it moves through the cut paper does not strike the paper. An inset is cut into the leading edge of the blade and the entire blade is positioned at a forwardly inclined angle in order that only the most outer and forward vertical edge of the blade, the cutting edge, which extends parallel to the axis of rotation, is ever actually involved in cutting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the cut-off saw of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing the cut-off saw, the backup plate, and the drive to the saw;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the saw of the invention and the backup wheel adjacent thereto;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3 and showing the relationship between the backup wheel, a. book, and the saw of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the blades of the saw of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the periphery of the saw showing the side rake of the blades;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view showing the drive to the mechanism for adjusting the backup plate;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary partially cut away view of the mechanism for adjusting the backup plate; and FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view showing the relationshipbetween the backup wheel, the backup plate, a

- book, and the saw of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the cut-off saw apparatus is mounted on a structural base or frame 10. Base 10 is provided with slideways 11 upon which are disposed supports 11a having collets 11b and lie (FIGS. 2 and 3). Carriage 12 is mounted upon slideways 14. The ends 14a (FIG. 2) of slideways l4 which'are eccentric with respect to the longitudinal axis of each of the slideways are rotatably supported. At one end of each of slidewaysl4, the eccentric ends 140 are supported in collets 11b. Rotation of slideways 14 by means of cranks or handles 14c enables the carriage to be adjustably positioned with respect to the path of travel of the books. The adjustment of the carriage by meansof the eccentrics is part of the general set-up procedures for placing the machine in operation. Of course, if the carriage is to be maintained level both before and after adjustment of the eccentric ends, it is necessary to move the eccentric ends of each slideway an equal amount.

Bearing and shaft assembly 30 is disposed upon carriage 12 and extends about a substantially vertical axis. Thus it can be seen that the carriage can be moved transversely with respect to the line of travel of the books by sliding the carriage along slideways 14 and can be moved longitudinally by means of collets 11c sliding along slideways ll.

Also mounted on carriage 12 is motor 32, which by means of its drive belt 34 is capable of rotating the shaft associated with bearing and shaft assembly 30 at a high rate of speed (FIG. 2). The cutting element of the book cut-off saw is mounted on spacer 30a which is coupled. to spindle 30b of the bearing assembly 30 (FIGS. 2 and 4).

The cutting element includes a thick disc 18. The disc 18 has a bevel 18a which extends inwardly with respect to rim 18b of the under side of .disc 18. The bevel serves to deflect away the cut material. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 9, cutting blades 20 are mounted in recesses 180 of disc 18. The blades can be brazed to the recesses. The blades protrude in a sawlike fashion outwardly beyond the periphery of rim 18b. Cutting blades 20 are made from an extremely hard tool material such as sintered tungsten carbide.

Referring to FIGS.- 5 and 6, several special features of the cutting blades are shown. Considering FIGS. 5 and 6, it is noted that cutting blades 20 possess a side rake 27 in order that the trailing edge of each cutting blade is thinner than its leading edge. The advantage of this construction is that the trailing edge portion of each blade is enabled to pass freely through the kerf formed by the cutting action. Therefore the trailing edge portion is prevented from mutilating the paper chip being cut off from the stack of signatures. For a similar purpose, i. e., assuring that the trailing surfaces of the blade do not encounter the dense paper being i cut, and to impart a self-cleaning capability to the teeth which facilitates the placing of a grinding wheel,

therebetween during sharpening. In sharpening'the wheel dresses the surface of the undercut and thereby I restores the sharpness of cutting edge 19. i

As canbe seen in FIGS. 3 and 9, blades 20 are provided with forward rake, that is to say the blades are inclined at a forward angle with respect to rim 18b, thus presenting cutting edge 19 as the only prominent portion of theblade to engage the item being out.

It is important to note that the cutting element of this invention enables blades 20 in rim 18b to be very thin, i. e. of the order of less than one-sixteenth of an inch. As a result the extreme thinness of the cutting blades enables a very narrow kerf to be made during cutting. This has two advantages. First, very little of the paper being cut is converted into paper dust. Secondly, the width of chip being cut away is greater since the kerf is smaller. Additionally, the cutting element of this invention leaves the cut surface, although generally flat, with a texture which is eminently suitable for application of glue during the binding of the clamped signatures into a book.

Although the cutting element of this invention presents a thin edge to engage the book being cut, there is no danger of the resulting binding edge being damaged by virtue of deflection or movement of the thin cutting edge. Extreme rigidity is provided to the cutting element by the thick disc portion 18 which has been described'above. This can be made practically as heavy as desired in order to provide whatever degree of rigidity is required.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the cutter assembly of this invention is used in connection with book binding machinery such as a binder having mechanical clamps for holding the signatures together and for advancing them along a predetermined path to engage the cutter wheel in order that the cuts be made properly. The way that this is commonly done is to provide anumber of clamps 16 which hold groups of signatures firmly together. A succession of clamps.l6 connected to a chain system sequentially move the books into engagement with the cutter element of the book cutter saw.

In order to make a smooth and precise cut, it is not sufficient to move the packets simply into engagement with the cutter wheel. Support must be provided in order to prevent deflection of the book 24 which can result from the cutting forces generated by teeth 20. FIGS. 3 and 7-9 show a mechanism by which this purpose is accomplished. Backup wheel 42 is rotatably mounted by means of bearing assembly 44 on bracket 46. Backup wheel 42 is positioned adjacent to and in an overlapping relationship with teeth 20. Thus the lower edge of wheel 42 is slightly above the upper surface of teeth 20 and cooperates with the cutting edge 19a.

Adjacent to backup wheel 42 is backup plate 47. Plate 47 is mounted for movement in a plane parallel to that of backup wheel 42 and disc 18. Acutely angled projection 53 of plate 47 intersects the circle defined by the rotation of the outermost points of blades 20 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8. The upper surface of projection 53 thereof is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of blades 20 while the lower surface of the plate is below the lower surface of the blades. The projection 53 serves as a stationary anvil against which the blades 20 of the cutter shear the signatures of the book. During operation, the shearing action of the blades causes projection 53 to wear away adjacent .to the blades. Thus the upper surface of the projection is progressively undercut during operation. Rub rail 31 is mounted upon the frame and provides added stability to books approaching the cutter.

This assembly enables a very precise cut to be made. At the point at which an approaching book engages blades 20, wheel 42 supports the book at a point thereon located slightly above the blades, thereby preventing excessive deflection of the book.

From time to time, as projection 53 of backup plate 47 becomes worn due to the shearing action thereon, it is necessary to'adjust the position of plate 47 relative to the path of rotating blades 20. Mechanism provided for this purpose is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Bracket mount 46 is fixed to arm 10a mounted on frame 10. Gear 38 which can be a helical gear is rotatably mounted on bracket 46 by bushing 56. Screwshaft 51 is fixed at one end to gear 38, is threaded through nut 55, and is retained with respect to bracket 46 by lock pin 57. When gear 38 is rotated, nut 55 and plate 47 to which it is fixed, slide along a path parallel to the path of books 24. In this way the location of projection 53 on plate 47 can be precisely adjusted with respect to the blades 20.

Means for rotation of gear 38 is provided by its mesh ing with gear 40 which in turn is connected to shaft 37. Gear 40 can also be a helical gear. Shaft 37 which extends to the front of the cutter machine assembly can be turned by hand in order to accomplish the desired adjustment of projection 53 of backup plate 47.

Thus it is seen that the apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention provides a book cut-off saw which is capable of making an exceedingly thin out and of producing a cut portion of paper which has an integral chip form, useful as scrap.

OPERATION Before the saw of the invention is placed into operation for the first time, it is necessary to make an initial setting of the position of the saw with respect to the line of travel of the books. This is accomplished by releasing collets 110 which enable supports 11a to be moved along slideways 11 (FIGS. 1-3). Supports 11a are also provided with collets 11b which engage the eccentric ends 14a of slideways 14. As an additional step in the initial set-up of the machine, cranks 140 may be manually turned to rotate slideways 14 and thereby their eccentric ends. Movement of the eccentrics together enables vertical adjustment of the carriage position to be made while maintaining the carriage in a level position.

Slideways 14 are connected to carriage 12 upon which is mounted the cut-off saw apparatus of the invention. Thus slideways 14 enable the saw to be positioned in a transverse direction with respect to the path of travel of the books.

Rub rail 31 is adapted to support the side of the book opposite the saw as the book approaches the saw. When the book is advanced into engagement with the blades of the saw, the book is supported by backup plate 47.

' The high speed cut-off saw is provided with blades 20 having a first cutting edge 19 and a second cutting edge 19a (FIG. 5) which are capable of cutting a narrow chip 25 of paper from the edge of the book (FIG. 4). In order to enable cutting edges 19 to shear the paper of the signatures forming the book, backup plate. 47 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is advanced in a direction parallel to the path of travel of the books until projection 53 (FIG. 9) is adjacent to the path along which cutting edges 19 rotate. As a result, projection 53 is made available to serve as an anvil against which the blades can shear the signatures of the book.

In order to maintain the optimum engagement between projection 53 of backup plate 47,'the plate is slidably mounted with respect to bracket 46 (FIG. 8) and retained thereto by screws 48 extending through slots 50. By manually rotating shafts 37, gear 40, gear 38, and screwshaft 51 attached thereto, nut 55 can be reciprocated with respect to bracket 46, thereby moving backup plate 47 with respect to blades 20. During operation of the machine, wear at projection 53 of the backup plate can conveniently be compensated for by periodically adjusting the position of the backup plate and thereby projection 53.

Due to the construction of blades 20 and the fact that they are mounted upon rigid disc 18, the blades can be. driven at a high rotational speed without vibrating or deflecting from a single common cutting plane. In this way the blades can be employed to cut a narrow yet salvagable chip of paper from the book with the minimum production of wasteful and undesirable paper dust.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for cuttingpaper from an edge portion of a book to form the binding edge thereof prior to binding, the machine having a rotatably mounted cutting element positioned to intersect the path of travel of a book through the machine and means for rotating the cutting element, the improvement comprising:

the cutting element having a circular disc of substantially rigid construction disposed in the path of travel of the book and mounted for rotation about an axis extending parallel to a face surface of the book; and

a plurality of thin cutting blades mounted adjacent the circumference of the disc and spaced apart from one another and extending radially outwardly from the disc, each of said cutting blades lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said disc, each of said cutting blades having a thickness in a direction perpendicular to said plane which is substantially less than the width of each of said cutting blades in a direction parallel to said plane and the thickness of said disc, each of said cutting blades having a first cutting edge means of a length equal to its thickness and extending parallel to said axis of rotation for cutting chips of paper of a thickness equal to the thickness of said blade from the edge portion of the book and a second cutting edge means lying in said plane and intersecting said first cutting edge means at an outer end portion of said blade.

2;. In a machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the improvement comprises the disc of substantially rigid construction having a thickness in the direction of the axis of rotation of the disc which is a multiple of the thickness of the thin cutting blades.

3. In a machine in accordance with claim 2 in which the improvement comprises the peripheral portion of the discbeing bevelled on the side of the disc which is opposite the book during the cutting operation.

4. In a machine in accordance with claim 2 in which the improvement comprises the peripheral portion of the disc terminating in a thin rim.

5. In a machine in accordance with claim 4 in which the improvement comprises the thickness of the thin rim extending about the disc being in substantial correspondence to the thickness of the thin cutting blades in a direction extending parallel to the axis of rotation of the cutting element.

6. In a machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the improvement comprises the thickness of eachof the plurality of the cutting blades being in the order of about one-sixteenth of an inch. 

1. In a machine for cutting paper from an edge portion of a book to form the binding edge thereof prior to binding, the machine having a rotatably mounted cutting element positioned to intersect the path of travel of a book through the machine and means for rotating the cutting element, the improvement cOmprising: the cutting element having a circular disc of substantially rigid construction disposed in the path of travel of the book and mounted for rotation about an axis extending parallel to a face surface of the book; and a plurality of thin cutting blades mounted adjacent the circumference of the disc and spaced apart from one another and extending radially outwardly from the disc, each of said cutting blades lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said disc, each of said cutting blades having a thickness in a direction perpendicular to said plane which is substantially less than the width of each of said cutting blades in a direction parallel to said plane and the thickness of said disc, each of said cutting blades having a first cutting edge means of a length equal to its thickness and extending parallel to said axis of rotation for cutting chips of paper of a thickness equal to the thickness of said blade from the edge portion of the book and a second cutting edge means lying in said plane and intersecting said first cutting edge means at an outer end portion of said blade.
 2. In a machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the improvement comprises the disc of substantially rigid construction having a thickness in the direction of the axis of rotation of the disc which is a multiple of the thickness of the thin cutting blades.
 3. In a machine in accordance with claim 2 in which the improvement comprises the peripheral portion of the disc being bevelled on the side of the disc which is opposite the book during the cutting operation.
 4. In a machine in accordance with claim 2 in which the improvement comprises the peripheral portion of the disc terminating in a thin rim.
 5. In a machine in accordance with claim 4 in which the improvement comprises the thickness of the thin rim extending about the disc being in substantial correspondence to the thickness of the thin cutting blades in a direction extending parallel to the axis of rotation of the cutting element.
 6. In a machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the improvement comprises each of the cutting blades having side rake by which the thickness of a leading side surface is greater than the thickness of a trailing side surface.
 7. In a machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the improvement comprises the thickness of each of the plurality of the cutting blades being in the order of about one-sixteenth of an inch. 